There are three well-known stories about Christmas in the New Testament. We have the austere metaphysical version of John (“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”). And we have the more narrative-dense narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Unique to Matthew is the reference to the Bethlehem star, the slaughter of innocents and the visit of the Magi. And peculiar to Luke are the mentions of the census, the stable, the cloths, the shepherds and the angels. When we imagine or act out Christmas, most of us manage to conflate the portrayals of Luke and Matthew.
But there is a fourth Christmas story in the New Testament, although it is rarely appreciated as such. It is found in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation and does not refer to shepherds, magicians or clothiers, but does mention a birth and a dragon. Revelation’s portrayal of Christmas is neither abstractly metaphysical nor directly narrative; rather, it is highly symbolic and apocalyptic. You could say this is the view of Christmas from God’s perspective, from the highest possible vantage point.
Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation begins: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Catholic interpreters have consistently read this figure as the Virgin Mary, and this is confirmed by what comes next: “She was with child and cried out in labor pains, in the pain of childbirth.”
Here is the Blessed Mother, who summarizes in her person the entire history of Israel (hence the 12 stars, suggestive of the 12 tribes), who is about to deliver the long-awaited Messiah. But then we hear from an adversary, a cosmic enemy: ‘Another sign appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns.’
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We should discuss the fourth mention of Christmas in the Bible – in Revelation. (iStock)
The purpose of this terrifying beast was completely evil: “the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth to a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.” We are meant to see something of extraordinary significance in this terrible threat, namely, that the coming of the Son of God is met with tremendous resistance from the dark and fallen spiritual forces.
Jesus represents God’s rescue operation, his attempt to right his fallen creation. And this means that the forces, both visible and invisible, that have an interest in preserving the world as it is, will go to any lengths to stop it.
With this interpretive key in mind, we can read Luke’s better-known story with fresh eyes. Mary and Joseph do not go to Bethlehem of their own accord, but because a dominant emperor has ordered a census of the entire world.
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When they come to the inn seeking shelter, they are turned away. The newborn child is wrapped in swaddling clothes, which the Church Fathers read as a foretaste of the funeral shrouds that would envelop his dead body some thirty years later. He is placed in a manger, the place where the animals eat, because at the end of his life he will offer his body and blood as atonement for sin.
Within days of his birth, his parents drive him away as Herod desperately tries to kill him. In short: the Christmas story is not a charming story that we tell to children; instead, it is reminiscent of the great spiritual battle, the war between good and evil that plays out in both visible and invisible arenas.
Does all this frighten or discourage us? Absolutely not – and the fourth Christmas story makes this clear. We hear that the woman, clothed with the sun, “gave birth to a man child, who will rule all nations with a rod of iron.” Instead of being consumed by the dragon, he is snatched away and brought to the throne of God. The meaning is clear: this child will win the great war; through him God will restore his creation; through him God will establish his rule in the world.
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We are then told that after the baby was taken, “war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and his angels fought back, but they were defeated.” The baby king controls the dark forces.
Jesus represents God’s rescue operation, his attempt to right his fallen creation.
And now let’s look at Luke’s story again. The evangelist tells us that on the night of Jesus’ birth an angel appeared to shepherds keeping watch in the field. As usual, the reaction to the manifestation of this alien power is fear. Then, with this terrifying reality, “a multitude of the heavenly host appear, praising God and giving glory to God in the highest.”
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The Greek term rendered ‘host’ here is ‘stratias’, which means ‘army’. Our words ‘strategy’ and ‘strategic’ come from this. Mary and Joseph were forced to go to Bethlehem due to an order from the man with the largest army in the world, but the baby king’s heavenly army is much larger and much stronger.
CS Lewis understood this dynamic well, which is why he noted that God came into the world the way he did—quietly, unobtrusively, like a helpless child—because he had to sneak behind enemy lines clandestinely. We are all afflicted by evil in its various forms, wickedness we can see and wickedness we cannot see. We all feel threatened by the dragon. The good news of Christmas is that the triumphant king has arrived, so we need not fear.
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